Part 3: Why Are Humans So Confused About Food?

So What The Hell Am I Supposed To Eat?

Let’s slow down and get honest.

When you ask, what am I supposed to eat, who is asking that question?

Do you believe you are a carnivore? Do you believe your diet should consist primarily of animal protein? Fish, chicken, seafood, eggs, dairy, red meat, game meat, two or three times a day, maybe every meal?

If that is your belief, then look at the whole picture. How are you preparing those foods?

Are you frying them in a skillet? Deep frying? Barbecuing? Broiling? Baking? Steaming? Covered in heavy sauces? Because preparation matters. You cannot say, I eat vegetables, while deep frying everything and expect that to be health.

The amount of animal protein most people need is far less than they think.

We live in a consumption culture. When we believe something is good, we do it excessively. More protein must be better. More muscle must be better. More is always better.

It is not.

Too much animal protein becomes a problem, not a solution. If you choose to eat it, eat less of it. Replace the excess with vegetation. Salads. Greens. Reds. Oranges. Roots. Squash. Pumpkin. All of it.

Take a squash, slice it thin, marinate it in something clean and simple, bake it or steam it. Eat it repeatedly. Your body will adapt. Your palate will change. You may even crave it the way you once craved meat.

Will there be discomfort? Possibly.

If you have not eaten much vegetation, your digestive system may protest at first. Gas. Bloating. Temporary weakness. Many people report feeling flat when they reduce protein. That is usually not a protein deficiency. It is a calorie issue. They are simply not eating enough total food.

And here is another trap. We reserve calories for desserts and snacks. We eat small meals and then load up on processed extras later. That is not biology. That is habit.

1. Should you eat seventeen times a day? No.
2. Should you eat nine meals a day? Probably not.
3. Should meals be reasonable in size? Yes.

Is it okay to snack? Of course. But think of a snack as a small meal. Consider your activity level. Highly active people require more calories. Sedentary people require fewer.

If weight loss is your goal, calorie awareness can be useful in the beginning. Clean foods in appropriate amounts work. But if you try to lose weight while still eating ultra processed junk, you might see short term results, but you will feel terrible. You will crave. You will relapse.

Quick fixes rarely survive gravity.

Lifestyle change takes time. It is not about becoming a disciplined eater. If discipline alone worked, you would have solved this already. Instead, you need a structure that supports abstinence from anxiety eating.

That is the real goal.

Anxiety eating is eating driven by discomfort, not hunger. Garbage food is often the vehicle, but the source is anxiety.

When we regulate the nervous system over time, we reduce reactivity to stress. We change our relationship to those painful internal sensations. That takes practice.

So what supports that practice?

1. Community.
2. Daily meditation.
3. Even prayer.

I will say this plainly. I am an atheist who prays.

Not because I subscribe to a religion, but because inward dialogue with something larger than my ego is stabilizing. Call it the universe. Call it awareness. Call it consciousness. I do not know what it is. But sitting in quiet communion with it helps.

Meditation was difficult for me for years because I misunderstood it. I thought I had to eliminate thought entirely. That is not the goal. The goal is a relaxed, manageable state where thoughts exist but do not hijack you.

Five minutes on the floor. On your back. Deep breathing. Trying to relax. That is meditation. You are not going to meet cosmic ancestors on day one. You are building regulation.

Accountability matters. When I practice yoga in a room full of people, I feel accountable to show up mentally. When I meditate at home, I feel accountable to my family to improve my level of calm for that day.

Active addiction means the mind is producing thoughts that create discomfort. The observer inside you is asleep. The thinking mind believes it is the star of the show called your life.

It is not.

You are larger than that stream of reactive thought.

Reading an article will not erase addiction. Listening to soothing music will not rebuild character. There is work to do.

1. Character building.
2. Trauma processing.
3. Self esteem repair.
4. Learning to stay present.
5. Stop projecting into the future.
6. Stop dragging the past as the main narrative.

There are no shortcuts.

You do not skip the line.

You show up every day. No days off.

It gets easier because we are creatures of habit. When you ingrain new patterns, they begin to carry you. The same mechanism that built addiction can build freedom.

So what are you supposed to eat?

1. Eat food with integrity.
2. Eat in amounts that match your activity.
3. Reduce excess animal protein.
4. Eliminate ultra processed junk
5. Increase whole vegetation.
6. Support your nervous system daily.

And understand that the real diet is not only what is on your plate. It is what is happening in your nervous system.

That is the deeper work.

Part 1: The Myth Of Food Instinct

Part 2: Sugar, Protein, And The Addiction Conversation

Part 3: So What The Hell Am I Supposed To Eat?